Cloud computing is the use of computing resources (e.g., hardware, software, storage, computing power, etc.) which are available from a remote location and accessible over a network, such as the Internet. Cloud computing environments deliver the computing resources as a service rather than as a product, whereby shared computing resources are provided to user devices (e.g., computers, smart phones, etc.). Users may buy these computing resources and use the computing resources on an on-demand basis. Cloud computing environments provide services that do not require end-user knowledge of a physical location and configuration of a system that delivers the services.
The computing resources may include virtual machines (VMs) that provide software implementations of a machine and execute programs like a physical machine. The VMs may provide cloud computing services to the users. Cloud providers may use software defined networks (SDNs) to manage the VMs in the cloud computing environment. The SDNs may utilize standard network devices (e.g., switches) to manage communication between the VMs. Despite being able to support over 4,000 virtual local area networks (VLANs) and 16,000 media access control (MAC) addresses, the standard network devices are unable to manage communications between the large number of VMs provided in a cloud computing environment.